Head coach Jenni Darlow and Durango will make the program’s first-ever playoff appearance Wednesday against Ralston Valley at DHS Stadium.

David Bergeland/Durango Herald file photo

Head coach Jenni Darlow and Durango will make the program’s first-ever playoff appearance Wednesday against Ralston Valley at DHS Stadium.

The Durango High School girls lacrosse team got the seed its head coach expected in its first postseason showing in program history.

DHS received the lowest seed the Mountain League champion is allowed, landing at No. 13, and the Demons will open their first playoff campaign against No. 20 Ralston Valley at 4 p.m. Wednesday at DHS Stadium in one of four first-round games in the 20-team bracket.

Durango (10-2) is looking for a victory not only for itself, but for the Mountain League as a whole, the prevailing thought being that the league won’t begin to get higher seeds until its teams prove they can do damage in the playoffs.

“Last year, Grand Junction was 14-1 and still got that 13th spot,” DHS head coach Jenni Darlow said. “At 10-2, we had no business expecting anything better.

“Until someone from the Mountain League wins a playoff game and goes up there and shows we can hang with teams on the Front Range, we’re not going to get any credit.”

The winner between the Demons and Mustangs (8-7) will visit No. 4 Regis Jesuit on Saturday at a time to be determined later this week.

“If we can win, then we’re proving we belong,” Darlow said. “If we win on Wednesday and then we go beat Regis, then we can say maybe we deserved to be ranked higher than 13. Until that happens, we are where we deserve to be.”

DHS was hoping to earn a higher seed to avoid a first-round game in order to rest some ailing players. Indications are that defender Liz Lozano (knee) likely will not play, but midfielder Becca Rossi (knee) and attacker Jessie Ransford (hip) are improving from nagging injuries and are expected to play.